Letters from Iwo Jima was released in Japan on December 9, 2006 and received a limited release in the United States on December 20, 2006 in order to be eligible for consideration for the 79th Academy Awards. It was subsequently released in more areas of the U.S. on January 12, 2007, and was released in most states on January 19. An English-dubbed version of the film premiered on April 7, 2008. Upon release, the film received considerable acclaim and did much better at the box office than its companion.

The film flashes back to Iwo Jima in 1944. Private First Class Saigo, a conscripted baker, is beaten by his commanding officer, Captain Tanida, after complaining that they should give the island to the Americans. Tanida is stopped by General Tadamichi Kuribayashi, who has arrived to take command of the garrison. Kuribayashi learns from Colonel Baron Takeichi Nishi that the Japanese Combined Fleet has been destroyed. Kuribayashi orders the garrison to tunnel defenses under the island. His subordinate officers protest at the lack of beach fortifications until he informs them of the fate of the Combined Fleet.

Saigo and his fellow troops believe that new arrival Senior Private Shimizu has been sent by the dreaded Kempeitai "to report on treasonous thoughts."

In February 1945, the first American air raids occur. A few days later, U.S. Marines land and suffer heavy casualties, but the beach defenses are quickly overcome. The attack then turns to the tunnels below Mount Suribachi. While running a message to Colonel Adachi, Saigo overhears the Colonel pleading with Kuribayashi for permission to commit suicide. Kuribayashi refuses and orders the Suribachi garrison to retreat to the north caves.

Ignoring the General's orders, Adachi orders his officers and men to kill themselves. Tanida and the other soldiers commit suicide, but Saigo convinces Shimizu that they would better serve the Emperor by continuing to fight. They meet with other survivors of Mount Suribachi, one of whom is incinerated by a U.S. Marine with a flamethrower.

Saigo and Shimizu report to fanatical Navy Lieutenant Ito, who prepares to execute them for abandoning Mount Suribachi, but Kuribayashi reprimands Ito and confirms that he gave the order to evacuate the mountain.

Ignoring orders from Kuribayashi, Ito plans to lead his men in a banzai charge against U.S. positions. He berates Colonel Nishi for refusing to take part; however, when they arrive at the American lines, he orders them to join Nishi. Ito then straps land mines to himself and walks toward the battle zone, intending to throw himself under a tank.

Saigo announces that he is going to surrender and dares Shimizu to arrest him. To his surprise, Shimizu tells him that he was dishonorably discharged from the Kempeitai for disobeying his superior's order to kill a family's barking dog. Saigo is moved, and the two become friends.

Nishi is blinded by shrapnel when a shell hits the cave. By now, his men are out of shells and ammunition. He orders Lieutenant Okubo to lead his men to regroup with Kuribayashi. Left in the cave with his rifle, Nishi kills himself.

Shimizu and Saigo plan to surrender together. Shimizu escapes and surrenders to a marine patrol, meeting another Japanese POW. The American patrol moves on, leaving behind two Marines as guards. As Shimizu and his fellow POW discuss their plans for after the war, one of the Marines shoots them both to avoid having to stand watch over them. The bodies are found by Lieutenant Okubo, who cites them as a lesson against surrender. Meanwhile, Lieutenant Ito, desperate and malnourished, breaks down and returns to the caves. When found by a Marine patrol, he surrenders.

Saigo and the rest of Okubo's patrol pass through a firefight while retreating; Okubo and several others are killed. The survivors rendezvous with General Kuribayashi, who is impressed that Saigo has come all the way from Mount Suribachi. Kuribayashi is amazed to learn that he has twice saved the private's life. After gathering the rest of his men, the General orders Saigo to stay behind and burn all documents and letters during the final attack rather than join the fighting, thus saving his life a third time. Saigo cannot bring himself to burn his comrades' letters to their families and buries them instead.

Attired as a common infantryman, Kuribayashi launches a charge at the head of his surviving soldiers. He is seriously wounded when shrapnel is lodged in his legs. Fujita, the general's adjutant, drags him away from the battle.

By the next morning, the Japanese forces have been overrun, and the Americans have taken the rest of the island. Beginning to succumb to his wounds, Kuribayashi orders Fujita to behead him. As Fujita raises his katana, he is shot dead by a Marine sniper.

Private Saigo arrives, and the dying General orders his last soldier to bury him where the enemy will never find his body. The General fatally shoots himself, and Saigo drags his body away for burial.

Meanwhile, a Marine patrol finds Fujita's body and the katana. The leader of the patrol, a Marine Lieutenant, takes Kuribayashi's pistol as a trophy. They search the area and find Saigo with his shovel. Saigo, enraged by the sight of the Marines with Kuribayashi's weapons, lashes out at them; the Lieutenant knocks Saigo out with a rifle butt and has him sent to the POW camp. Awakening, Saigo glimpses the sun setting over the beach.

The film ends with the Japanese archaeologists finding the letters that Saigo buried.

The filmmakers had to be given special permission from the Tokyo Metropolitan Government to film on Iwo Jima,[citation needed] because more than 10,000 missing Japanese soldiers still rest under its soil. The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) operates a naval air base on Iwo Jima, which is used by the United States Navy for operations such as nighttime carrier landing practice. Civilian access to the island is restricted to those attending memorial services for fallen American Marines and Japanese soldiers.

The battleship USS Texas (BB-35), which was used in closeup shots of the fleet (for both movies) also participated in the actual attack on Iwo Jima.[citation needed] The only character to appear in both Flags of Our Fathers and Letters From Iwo Jima is Charles W. Lindberg, played by Alessandro Mastrobuono.

The film is based on the non-fiction books "Gyokusai sōshikikan" no etegami ("Picture letters from the Commander in Chief")[2] by General Tadamichi Kuribayashi (portrayed on screen by Ken Watanabe) and So Sad To Fall In Battle: An Account of War[3] by Kumiko Kakehashi about the Battle of Iwo Jima. While some characters such as Saigo are fictional, the overall battle as well as several of the commanders are based upon actual people and events.

CNN's Tom Charity in his review described Letters from Iwo Jima as "the only American movie of the year I won't hesitate to call a masterpiece."[14] On the "Best Films of the Year 2006" broadcast (December 31, 2006) of the television show Ebert & Roeper, Richard Roeper listed the film at #3 and guest critic A. O. Scott listed it at #1, claiming that the film was "close to perfect." Roger Ebert awarded the film a perfect score (4 out of 4 stars) and raved about it as well. James Berardinelli awarded a 3 out of 4 star review, concluding with that although both 'Letters' and 'Flags' were imperfect but interesting, 'Letters from Iwo Jima' was more focused, strong and straightforward than its companion piece.[15]

On January 23, 2007, the film received four Academy Award nominations. Eastwood was nominated for his directing, as well as Best Picture along with producers Steven Spielberg and Robert Lorenz. It was also nominated for Best Original Screenplay. The film took home one award, Best Sound Editing.

The film also appeared on many critics' top ten lists of the best films of 2006.[16]

The film was far more commercially successful in Japan than in the U.S., ranking number 1 for five weeks, and receiving a warm reception from both Japanese audiences and critics. The Japanese critics noted that Clint Eastwood presented Kuribayashi as a "caring, erudite commander of Japan's Iwo Jima garrison, along with Japanese soldiers in general, in a sensitive, respectful way." [17] Also, the Japanese newspaper Asahi Shinbun noted that the movie is clearly "distinguishable" from previous Hollywood movies, which tended to portray Japanese characters with non-Japanese actors (e.g., Chinese-Americans, and other Asian-Americans). Consequently, incorrect Japanese grammar and non-native accents were conspicuous in those former films, jarring their realism for the Japanese audience. In contrast, most Japanese roles in 'Letters from Iwo Jima' are played by native Japanese actors. Also, the article praised the film's new approach, as it is scripted with excellent research into Japanese society at that time. According to the article, previous Hollywood movies describing Japan were based on the stereotypical images of Japanese society, which looked "weird" to native Japanese audiences. Letters from Iwo Jima is remarkable as the movie that tries to escape from the stereotypes.[18] Owing to the lack of stereotypes, Letters from Iwo Jima was appreciated by Japanese critics and audiences.[19]

Since the movie was successful in Japan, it has been also reported that there has been a tourist boom on the island of Iwo Jima.[20]

Nicholas Barber's review in Independent of the United Kingdom argued that the movie was a "timid, circumspect film" that was "as mawkish about other country's soldiers as it can about its own." Barber wrote that the only good and caring characters were those who had "spent some time in the United States," implying that the film had an American bias. [21]

Despite favorable reviews, the film only grossed $13.7 million domestically in the United States. Foreign sales of $54.9 million helped to boost revenue over production costs of $19 million.[1]